Authentic Paella Valenciana

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Recipe by: Jason Nelson

"I lived in Spain for two years where I was taught the art of making the Paella which originated in Valencia. I haven't found anything on here which is even close to authentic, so I thought I would add this recipe for those who would like to try a taste of Spain. First and foremost you will need a special paella pan called a paellera or just a paella. Trust me after you taste this you'll be glad you bought the special pan."

Directions

Prep

30 m

Cook

1 h 30 m

Ready In

2 h

Heat a paella pan over medium-high heat, and coat with olive oil. Add the chicken, rabbit and garlic; cook and stir until nicely browned. Move the browned meat to the sides of the pan, and add the tomato, butter beans, peas, and green beans. Season with paprika, and mix well.

Fill the paella pan almost to the top with water, measuring the water as you put it in. This is to help you to determine how much rice to add, as paella pans come in different sizes. Bring to a boil. Simmer for about 1 hour to make a nice broth.

Season with a generous amount of salt, and just enough saffron to make a nice yellow color. Season with thyme and rosemary if desired. The goal is to make a rich tasting broth that will soak into the rice to make it delicious. Stir in half as much rice as the amount of water in the pan. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until all of the liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes.

All done! Now take a photo, rate it, and share your accomplishments!

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Footnotes

Note

Rabbit can be very hard to find so you can just use a whole chicken instead. It also may be easier to use boneless chicken but then you don't get any fun extras, like hearts and livers. If you do use the hearts and livers don't put them in until later as they cook very fast. They will however add a nice flavor to the rest of the dish.

Reviews 25

35 Ratings

Jason Nelson

6/13/2008

This is my recipe and I just wanted to add a couple things.
1. You don't really eat the whole head of garlic you just let it infuse its flavor into the broth, I don't even peel it.
2. Continally test the broth until it's perfect before adding the rice, as a trick; once it's perfect you can take a little out then add water and salt in the pan and cook till it's perfect again so you'll have perfect broth set aside to add to perfect broth in case you need a little more for the rice w/o having to water it down.
3. You can add some roasted red pepper slices on top for a nice presentation.
4. I forgot to mention the most important part, squeeze lemon juice on it before you eat it!

Madrid 2016

11/11/2006

Às a Spaniard married with a "Valenciana" I can certify this is the authentic paella Valenciana. I love this dish but I prefer not to use the extras you mentioned in the recipe.
For the one who reviewed this recipe and said shrimps and olives where missing, I'd like to say that shrimps aren't used in the paella valenciana, only in the "seafood paella" and I've never seen olives in a paella in Spain.

Maria

8/6/2009

Hi!! My name is Maria, and I'm from Valencia, also, I'm a cook, so I love paella and know really well how to make one, I'm 25 years old and almost every Sunday of my life I ate paella. The real Paella Valenciana doesn't have green peas, but you can add, when its the season, artichoke in quarters. Someone told you to add a bit of lemon juice over it before eating the paella, and I agree it makes the flavour more intense, but the acid of the lemon combined with the carbohydrates of the rice makes your digestion difficult. Only add lemon juice if its very oily, it would help your stomach. I don't mean that you can't add green peas to your paella if you like it, but in Valencia, no one does, maybe in some villages near it. If you want to try a very tasty one use dried cod, tender garlic and cauliflower. It's really nice. Another tipe of paella is the one with meatballs and red pepper.